Business people : Drift Taps Simon Wootton as Global Brand Manager

Drift Innovation, the British maker of point-of-view HD cameras for action sports, appointed Simon Wootton as the company’s new global brand manager, effective immediately.

Wootton comes to Drift with 19 years of action sports industry experience, 15 of which included various marketing positions at the top-tier sporting brand, Quiksilver, as well as two years as European marketing director at Reef. Beyond his professional experience, the Australian native, now European resident, is an accomplished surfer, board rider (snow and skate) and enthusiast of action sports in general, which furthers his connection with the Drift brand and its core markets.
As Wootton begins his strategic revamp of Drift’s marketing initiatives, his initial focus will be to align all existing global marketing efforts and clearly define Drift’s target consumer. His organized, collaborative and result-orientated management style will enhance all consumer and dealer touch points for the growing brand.

“I’m really excited to become part of the team at Drift, particularly at a point in time where P.O.V. cameras are now becoming a must have accessory for action sports enthusiasts,” said Wootton. “A young and dynamic brand, Drift’s HD camera range offers built in 1.5 inch LCD screen, rotatable lens, wireless remote control and intuitive menu navigation, all of which help simplify the camera’s functionality to make the overall user experience so much more enjoyable. Drift combines consumer electronics, state of the art digital technology and action sports – it really does feel like a perfect fit for me, I’m stoked!”

In the past year, Drift’s exponential growth with the launch of the Drift HD, warranted five new hires in addition to Wootton, including: senior product design engineer Drew Henson; graphic designer Sam Chelton; product design manager Milo Murphy; and global sales coordinator Sven Dawidowski.

“As the Drift brand continues to successfully grow, we are deliberately assembling a robust, dedicated team who understands our target markets and the essence of the brand,” said Drift co-founder, Robin Parker. “I look forward to working closely with Simon and his team to bring Drift’s visions to reality.”

( SportsOneSource Media )